“GT” Nature

Here are all the “GT” Travel posts that focus on the nat­ur­al envir­on­ment and/or wild­life of a des­tin­a­tion more than its people or cul­ture. Posts that explore the cul­ture and nature of a place evenly appear both here and in “GT” Cul­ture.

Experience the ‘far side’ of Chitwan National Park, Nepal

October 27, 2022

Experience Chitwan National Park's far side on an open-hood jungle safari Picture Courtesy Community Homestay Network

Between waves of the pan­dem­ic, in 2021 I had the oppor­tun­ity to travel around Nepal’s Chit­wan Nation­al Park.  Known for its diverse wild­life, lush forests, and as one of the best places for bird watch­ing in Nepal, Chit­wan Nation­al Park is a fam­ous des­tin­a­tion for domest­ic and inter­na­tion­al trav­el­lers keen to explore Nepal’s flat plains.  Located […]

Read More Experience the ‘far side’ of Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Posted in "GT" Travel in Asia, "GT" Travel in Nepal, "GT" Travel World
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Planning a trip to Colombia? Here’s why you should visit the coffee region

September 29, 2022

The wax palms of Cocora Valley in the Colombian Andes. Image by Makalu (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/colombia-palm-trees-3631740/

The vari­ous regions of Colom­bia are vastly dif­fer­ent from each oth­er.  Trav­el­lers look­ing to avoid ‘over­tour­ism’ and embrace ‘authen­ti­city’ should con­sider explor­ing the nation’s cof­fee-grow­ing region in the Andes Moun­tains.  Dur­ing my two and a half weeks in Colom­bia, August 2022, I vis­ited that region, as well as the cit­ies of Medel­lin and Cart­agena.  Here are […]

Read More Planning a trip to Colombia? Here’s why you should visit the coffee region
Posted in "GT" Travel in Colombia, "GT" Travel in South America, "GT" Travel World
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Memories of Jordan (and celebrating the ‘bucket list’)

February 17, 2022

Memories of Petra and Jordan by Melanie Kay Smith

I was at a tour­ism industry con­fer­ence a few months ago listen­ing to a talk on the dev­ast­at­ing effects of COV­­ID-related travel bans on her­it­age des­tin­a­tions.  Pro­fess­or Mike Robin­son, the speak­er, cited Jordan as a prime example.  Amidst my sym­pathy for the des­tin­a­tion and its people, my ‘buck­et list’ quest react­iv­ated instantly in my mind.  It […]

Read More Memories of Jordan (and celebrating the ‘bucket list’)
Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in Asia, "GT" Travel in Jordan
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Find five-star dining in surprising Mae Sot

October 21, 2021

Instruction in the kitchen at HCTC's The Passport restaurant in Mae Sot, Thailand

The city of Mae Sot in west­ern Thai­l­and dis­plays most of the hall­marks of a small bor­der cross­ing hub. Rich in trade, the quiet little town is a fas­cin­at­ing melt­ing pot of people.  Over dec­ades, influxes of refugees flee­ing neigh­bour­ing Myan­mar, many from the per­se­cuted Kar­en tribe, have shaped the city and earned it the nick­name of […]

Read More Find five-star dining in surprising Mae Sot
Posted in "GT" Travel in Thailand, "GT" Travel in Asia, "GT" Travel World
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Busting the borderland’s bad rap

August 18, 2021

The Sonora, Mexico landscape at El Aribabi. Picture supplied by author via the El Aribabi Conservation Ranch Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ElAribabi

I enjoy sup­port­ing the ‘under­dog’ des­tin­a­tions of the world. They are often unique and beau­ti­ful in their own right, yet are under-vis­ited for one reas­on or anoth­er. An example I’ve already writ­ten about for “GT” Travel is the Amer­ic­an Prair­ie Reserve in Montana. Anoth­er place worth vis­it­ing by any­one seek­ing adven­ture is Ran­cho El Aribabi […]

Read More Busting the borderland’s bad rap
Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in Mexico, "GT" Travel in North America
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Little yurt on the prairie

July 21, 2021

Connor and his daughter, Genesis, at an APR yurt that forms part of their Hut-to-Hut System

Have you ever felt good about vis­it­ing a place that was hungry for vis­it­ors but not get­ting the atten­tion it deserved?  Its lack of pop­ular­ity may have been due to the des­tin­a­tion or attrac­tion being new, or out of the way, or maybe it some­how got a bad rap. Whatever the reas­on, it was off […]

Read More Little yurt on the prairie
Posted in "GT" Travel World, "GT" Travel in North America, "GT" Travel in the USA
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